News from Greater Minnesota

Transportation

Feb 25, 2015

In his latest messaging fail, state representative Tim Kelly (R-Red Wing), the untested chair of the powerful Minnesota House Transportation Policy & Finance Committee claims that prior to the release of Governor Dayton 's transportation plan--drawn from recommendations from the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MNDOT)--Minnesota governors sat on their hands waiting for earmarks from the state legislature.

A review of the Pawlenty administration reveals that it too released an ambitious transportation plan. And just like the present, funding transportation was contentious during the Republican administration.

We’ve all heard the phrase “It’s my way or the highway,” but have you ever received the “it’s my way or no highway” message?

Strangely this was the basic theme conveyed by Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton and his transportation team recently.

It was no coincidence that on a day when Minnesota’s legislative auditor blasted his MNsure program by saying “its failures outweighed its achievements,” Dayton and his transportation commissioner assembled the media and told them exactly what roads would receive upgrades if lawmakers approved his $9 billion transportation tax and fee increase proposal.

Usually the Legislature first allocates funding and then allows the transportation department to decide where it should be spent. But Dayton is attempting to alter this approach by politically earmarking where his new revenue would go, and in the case of Hwy. 14, flat-out saying this project would not get done unless House Republicans approved his proposal.

This type of fear-mongering is just wrong, and the fact that it’s coming from our chief executive just adds to the stench of political gamesmanship. . .

We realize that Kelly is new at being on a transportation committee, much less chairing one, and so the learning curve is high and hard, but that's enormously silly rhetoric, given that the ghosts of Governor Tim Pawlenty's expansive 2003 10-year, $7 billion transportation plan lurk in the corners of the Innertubes.

Transportation: The Pawlenty-Molnau administration has supported the largest transportation expansion in state’s history and will continue to support innovative efforts to expand and improve our roads and infrastructure.

Proposed a 10-year, $7 billion transportation investment program to accelerate dozens of major highway and transit projects without raising state taxes – the largest state transportation investment plan ever proposed by a governor. The cornerstone of the program, a constitutional amendment which would transfer all motor vehicle sales taxes to transportation, was passed by voters in 2006.

Proposed and implemented $900 million in critical state highway and bridge projects authorized in the 2003 transportation bill – the largest infusion of transportation funding in Minnesota’s history.

Package financed 20 major projects more than a cumulative 70 years ahead of schedule.

Included in that package were improvements to Highways 14, 212, 494, 169, 10, 34, 371, and 53. Improvements to “Unweave the Weave” (694/35E) and Crosstown/35W are underway.

$40 million in eligible transit advantage projects.

$100 million in state highway safety and preservation projects

Proposed and supported constitutional dedication of the motor vehicle sales tax. The MVST dedication is the equivalent of a 9-cent gas tax increase.. . .

"It's a grievous problem. A bridge fell down and we're all moved to do the right thing, not out of emotion, but out of commitment to good work and principle," said Abeler. "It's a constitutional duty. Education and transportation and public safety are public duties."

By fall, the gas tax will climb a nickel, to 25 cents per gallon. It will go up an additional 3-1/2 cents to pay off road bonds, though those increases would be spread out over the next five years and eventually roll back as debt is satisfied.

There will also be a metrowide sales tax increase of a quarter percent, and people who buy new cars will pay higher license tab fees.

Here's a presentation of the 2003 plan we found archived on the state's website:

Feb 23, 2015

Dahms suggested using sales taxes on leased and rented vehicles, which he said could generate about $450 million a year. "Transportation money used to come from those sources until it was shifted away over the years," Dahms explained. "Only 7% of the Governor's budget goes to transportation. We've all heard about the issues."

That's a good one. According to non-partisan House staff, in 2015, the state took in $69 million for long-term leases, while for it's predicted that in Fiscal Year 2016, $22.9 million revenue will come in for rentals (9.2% above general tax). That's about $92 million per year, less than a fourth of what Dahms forecast. (One almost has to wonder if he was thinking of some other revenue source).

Not everyone at Friday's town hall at the New Ulm Pizza Ranch was as negative on the Governor's transportation plan, Busch reports:

Brown County Commissioner Dick Seeboth said he didn't often agree with Gov. Dayton but that he felt he "hit a homerun with his latest transportation plan. "Adding a 16 cent gas tax is just a drop in the bucket for huge needs we have and good for the State in general," Seeboth explained.

Photo: Senator Gary Dahms.

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Rep. Tim Kelly of Red Wing, the leading House Republican on transportation matters, agrees “federal funds are lacking” but he’s not convinced raising state taxes is the right course. Majority House Republicans plan to seek a quick shot of new transportation funding this session, with a sizable amount drawn from a projected state budget surplus.

But Kelly is dropping hints that GOP members will wait until the 2016 session to figure out a long-term finance plan. Kelly said it’s his preference to defer action until the sides come to consensus on what the true need is.

“It’s irresponsible to suggest we can do that in the course of eight weeks, 10 weeks, even two months when we’re talking about a 10-year plan,” Kelly said. “If we reach agreement on the need, then it’s a matter of finding the revenue to meet the need.”

Meanwhile, on Monday Kelly's committee will be hearing a proposal to allow heavier trucks on the roads and bridges. MNDOT will also present overview of study done by MNDOT on truck size/weight issue [pdf here]

Feb 17, 2015

One of the talking points Tim Miller repeats and repeats and repeats is that Highway 12 west of Willmar is called "the goat trail" or that it's little more than a goat trail. We heard him say this in debates last fall and he told a reporter for the Star Tribune that "Highway 12 out here is in about as good a shape as a goat trail."

We've never heard anyone other than Tim Miller say this and having asked a number of long-term residents of the area, we've learned that they've never heard it so described either. (One young friend has heard the phrase used by relatives from the Bird Island area, but he's the only one).

It [Highway 12] is in pretty good shape west of Willmar and beyond. There is the 'old hwy. 12' that still exists parallel to the current route in places. That is goat trail worthy but, not the current Hwy 12.

Dairy farmer James Kanne added:

Well maybe Miller is taking the old Hwy 12 route, assuming his maps aren't any more up to date than his ideas.

Does this explain the nickname "Goat Trail"?

Now for something real: Willmar presentation on Highway 23

While the milling and repaving of Highway 12 (as it's known in these parts) is part of routine infrastructure care, the big project that's going to improve travel in these parts will be the upgrade of Highway 23 to a four-lane highway from St. Cloud/ I94 to Willmar as part of the Corridors of Commerce.

The project is in MNDOT District 8, which includes most of the counties in Miller's House District, MN17A. While the Highway 23 four-lane project isn't in MN17A, tying Willmar to the Interstate system with a four-lane highway will help open opportunities "down the road."

On Friday, Senate Transportation Committee Chair Scott Dibble is bringing his committee to St. Cloud and Willmar for presentations and a hearing. From a press release:

To hear from the public firsthand about the transportation needs in Greater Minnesota, the Senate Transportation and Public Safety Committee will travel to St. Cloud and Willmar on Friday, February 20. The visits will include tours, presentations on transportation projects and opportunities, and a public hearing.

Chair of the Committee, Sen. Scott Dibble (DFL-Minneapolis) is encouraging people to provide their input on the state’s transportation network, as well as the Senate’s transportation funding plan.

“Minnesota has over 144,000 miles of roads and bridges, stretching across our vast state. As Minnesota continues to grow, the pressures on our aging transportation network grow as well. By going on the road, our committee can see firsthand where the need for state investment is, and give us the opportunity to hear from the people that depend on this network every day,” Dibble said.

Details of the Friday February 20 tour itinerary are available below, all stops are open to the press and public to attend:

9:30 AM - Arrive at the Miller Center at St. Cloud State University for transit presentation

720 4th Avenue South, St. Cloud, MN 56301

11:30-1:30 PM - Public Hearing with testimony in St. Cloud City Council Chambers (media advisory available immediately following the hearing)

Like so many Republicans, freshman Tim Miller has muddied the waters about where gas tax money would be going while insisting in a recent email to constituents that a tiny transportation package would take care of our needs for road and bridge repair and replacement.

UPDATE: A reader has sent a photo of the Miller constituent email, as adapted for a legislative report in the February 12, 2015 Renville County Register (no website). It's pretty astonishing, as Miller lumps all the taxes and fees--including the seven-county metro-only sales tax that will pay for transit--into one $9 billion sum so that 17A residents think our gas taxes are paying for transit in the metro.

Here's the item:

The Senate DFL communications office has put together a video primer addressing the GOP talking points:

Jan 30, 2015

Under the quaint notion that misery loves company, a friend from Minnesota House District 12A--just next door to the west of Bluestem's world headquarters--forwards freshman state representative Jeff Backer's legislative updates.

In today's update, Backer shares this complaint:

. . .On Tuesday, the Governor unveiled his budget proposal for the coming biennium. His budget includes a $6.839 billion increase in all-funds spending over the current biennium and a more than $903 million increase in all taxes for the biennium. While there are portions of the proposal that I think we can find some common ground, the budget proposal ultimately offers more questions than answers.

Included in the Governor’s proposal is an increase in the state’s gas tax by 6.5% and to spend $2.8 billion on metropolitan transit projects such as light rail. If Governor Dayton is honest about his intent to improve all of Minnesota’s roads and bridges then we have to re-prioritize money away from light rail boondoggles and bike trails in the Twin Cities to real roads and bridges around the state. . . .

Where do we begin?

First, Backer discusses a budget proposal for the coming biennium, but in the next paragraph, he jumps to the governor's proposed transportation plan, which projects 10 years of spending, not two.

Here's how the Governor's office pitched the ten year spending plan (screenshot from the embedded pdf below):

In the first sentence of his second paragraph, Backer links together the gas tax increase and the money for transit in the first sentence, Backer implies that the 6.5% gas tax would go to fund light rail and bike paths, but that money is constitutionally mandated to go to roads and bridges and cannot be spent on transit.

It's a seven-county sales tax increase that would pay for metro transit, while the bike and pedestrian funding would be financed by the general fund and the sales tax increase. Nor would all that revenue go toward light rail, according to the fact sheet:

The Governor’s proposal would fund 20 new transitways, increase metro area bus service by 27 percent, increase Metro Area transit ridership by an estimated 80 percent, meet 90 percent of all transit needs in Greater Minnesota, and increase transit service in Greater Minnesota by nearly 500,000 hours of service annually.

And those "real roads and bridges" Backer likes? From the Governor's ten-year proposal:

• Better Corridors of Commerce – The Governor’s proposal would provide an additional $1.6 billion for the Corridors of Commerce initiative, making targeted investments in key freight routes that are important for business expansions, job creation, and economic development.

• Better Roads and Bridges – The Governor’s proposal would repair or replace 2,200 miles of roads. It would repair or replace 330 bridges statewide. Over 40 percent of the new revenues raised in the Governor’s proposal would be directed to cities, counties, and townships; giving local leaders the resources and flexibility to repair and replace local roads and bridges statewide.

By leaving out important timelines, facts, figures and sources of revenue, while supplying his constituents with only the figure on metro transit, the gas tax increase and mentioning only the "coming biennium," Backer has crafted a classic bait and switch.

That bait and switch put in service of the sort of the classic Backer place-baiting that feeds resentment of other parts of the state. He rode this rhetoric into office in St. Paul, but all of Minnesota's transportation needs--including revenue for "real roads and bridges"--is shortchanged by this malarkey.

Jan 27, 2015

Transportation Commissioner Charlie Zelle said he based the $6 billion in spending on roads and bridges on a 2012 report by the Transportation Finance Advisory Committee, which is composed of elected officials, business and labor leaders.

“After careful analysis, 100 percent were in agreement that if we ignore this problem, we’ll leave a legacy of poor and crumbling transportation for future generations,” Zelle said.

Former Republican legislators who came to that agreement tell Scheck that they didn't really mean it. Mike Beard, who represented Shakopee in the House, for instance, said “Need is a political term[.]” Having listened to Republicans for years drone on about the difference between "wants" and "needs," Bluestem knows exactly want Beard means.

Rep. Tim Kelly says GOP has no rush on long-term transportation bill. "I look forward to a long-term solution over the next two years."

For his part, House Transportation Committee Chair Rep. Tim Kelly, R-Red Wing, said he has many questions about Dayton’s tax plan, particularly how much more people would pay and who it would affect most.

He said the Legislature needs more time to figure out exactly how much money the state really needs for its roads, bridges and transit.

“The sooner we can all get on the same page and reach agreement of what the number is, we can get to solving the problem,” Kelly said.

. . .Kelly, who recently won election to a fourth term, is somewhat of a surprise pick for the post because he had not been serving on the transportation committee. But Kelly said in a lot of ways his selection makes sense.

"Where I sit, just from a district perspective, we've got rail lines, we've got freight, we've got major highways, we've got an airport, we've got a river. When you think about it, it's smack dab in the middle of every form of transportation we utilize," the Red Wing Republican said.

In addition, he said he lives close enough to the metro area to understand some of the issues there. That's important, Kelly said, because rural and urban lawmakers are going to have to be willing to work together to get a comprehensive transportation funding package passed.

"We still have to work together as a state, as opposed to outstate versus metro," he said.

So trains, planes and automobilies--and barges--travel through his district and he drives to the Cities sometimes.

There's not much barge traffic in Southwestern Minnesota, so Rod Hamilton will have to be content shepherding the relatively tiny share of the state budget allocated to agriculture, and at least his recent experience in the human resources department of Christensen Farms is a bit more solid than just having transportation occur somewhere near Mountain Lake.

The selection of Kelly exposes a weakness in the public relations gambit of appointing committee chairs and members on the basis of geography over expertise. Kelly has to learn about our transportation needs, so another two years will be spent dithering over matters that have been studied to death.

Bonus: Be on the lookout for Republican butthurt about how using the word "transportation" is a cover for funneling money away from roads and bridges to light rail. Bluestem is shocked there's no pitchforks and torches rally heading to Daudt's office to demand that he change the committee's name to Roads and Bridges. The last time that name was used was in the 1917-1918 session.

Commodity Group Meeting. The executive directors and lobbyists of most of the state’s commodity groups met in Shakopee on Tuesday to continue the discussions on the possibility of putting together a unified agriculture agenda for 2015. Ideas include additional transportation funding, increased truck weights, regulatory and permitting reform, property tax reform, and up to $30 million to fund agriculture-specific programs such as the Farm Business Management program. The group has agreed to the above items in principle, and work on those issues will begin immediately.

We understand that eliminating the Citizens Board of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and other such controversial ideas are under consideration.

"I believe in equal opportunities but not necessarily equal rights. We as a country afford certain rights not always given to all. Some laws are meant to promote specific benefits to society. For example, farmers are given certain tax incentives not afforded to other businesses. . . ."

Note: A reader was confused by what Miller's remarks on equality had to do with special rights for farmers, so the quotation from a letter has been added to the post, rather than expecting reader to click through to the earlier entry.

Photo: Fields of green, all in the gameo.

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Jan 24, 2015

Bluestem loves to read State Representative Tony Cornish's Facebook page, with its lively discourse about life and politics. We wish he'd shoot more coyotes, but that's just the pet lover in us.

But the photo from his page that we've screengrabbed and posted above caused us to pause. Not because Cornish (R-Vernon Center) declares that the woman is in need of prayer (isn't eveyone?) or the comments about the bumpersticker, but that the photo was taken while someone--presumably the state representative, a retired lawman who serves as the chairman of the Minnesota House Public Safety and Crime Prevention Policy and Finance Committee--while driving.

We can't say with any certainty that the photo was posted to Facebook while the driver-photographer was still driving. Bluestem believes that he must have waited to post the image and the prayer request after he arrived at his destination.

For purposes of this section, "electronic message" means a self-contained piece of digital communication that is designed or intended to be transmitted between physical devices. An electronic message includes, but is not limited to, e-mail, a text message, an instant message, a command or request to access a World Wide Web page, or other data that uses a commonly recognized electronic communications protocol. An electronic message does not include voice or other data transmitted as a result of making a phone call, or data transmitted automatically by a wireless communications device without direct initiation by a person.

Subd. 2.Prohibition on use.

No person may operate a motor vehicle while using a wireless communications device to compose, read, or send an electronic message, when the vehicle is in motion or a part of traffic.

This section does not apply if a wireless communications device is used:

(1) solely in a voice-activated or other hands-free mode;

(2) for making a cellular phone call;

(3) for obtaining emergency assistance to (i) report a traffic accident, medical emergency, or serious traffic hazard, or (ii) prevent a crime about to be committed;

(4) in the reasonable belief that a person's life or safety is in immediate danger; or

(5) in an authorized emergency vehicle while in the performance of official duties.

Does snapping a photo with one's smartphone or tablet fall under that prohibition? Or perhaps exception (4) applies, though we suspect that the legislative intent was to text 911, not prayer requests on Facebook.

Regardless of the circumstance, the message about Facebooking is not one that a respected lawmaker ought share on Facebook, for as Jay Kolls and various law enforcement people taught Minnesotans during #Pointergate, unruly youth in our state comb Facebook and other social media looking for clues about appropriate behavior.

Representative Cornish, think of the youth of Minneapolis and Apple Valley!

Photo: Screengrab from Representative Cornish's Facebook page.

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. . . I’m also pleased with Jeff’s focus on prioritizing our transportation dollars on roads and bridges. Instead of putting money into light rail projects that only serve the metro, Jeff understands the importance of enhancing our roads and repairing our bridges so that we can get from one destination to another in a safe and timely manner. The proposal put forward by House Republicans allows for over $750 million in additional spending for roads and bridges over the next four years. It also requires the Minnesota Department of Transportation to find and implement 15 percent in savings to fund road and bridge projects instead of asking us to pay even more in taxes.

The 2015 Legislative Session has just started and it appears Rep. Jeff Backer is giving up when it comes to fixing our state’s transportation infrastructure. As a rural legislator, I know how important our roads and bridges are to our residents and farmers.

During the campaign, Rep. Backer and his Republican allies committed to fixing our state’s crumbling roads and bridges. But Rep. Backer’s new leader, Speaker Kurt Daudt, has already admitted that Republicans “may not be able to solve this on the long-term basis.” And the so called plan that Republicans offered certainly isn’t a fix – it’s not even a band-aid!

HF 4 would spend just $200 million in new, one-time money on transportation over the next two years. That might sound like a lot, but it would only allow us to build about 130 miles of rural two-lane highways, or 40 miles of four-lane highways. To put that in context, Minnesota has 140,000 miles of roadways.

Projections have shown that our state needs $6 billion over the next 10 years just to maintain our state roads and bridges and reduce congestion. For comparison, the DFL-led legislature invested $743 million in transportation over the past two years – an amount that Republicans called inadequate.

To make matters worse, the House GOP’s top legislative priority is to cut taxes for corporations. Rather than truly fixing our crumbling roads and bridges, Republicans want to send hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to corporations — the same tired, failed policies of the past.

Cutting businesses taxes won’t boost Greater Minnesota’s economy or provide greater economic security for Minnesota families. Will Rep. Backer stick with his party boss’s plans that favor corporate special interests over rural roads and bridges or will he make good on his promise to fix our state’s transportation system?

Only time will tell.

There's that.

Photo: A white flag is the universal sign for surrender.

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To demonstrate he's in the legislative sidecar of those constituents on two wheels, the state representative from Wabasha County has introduced a new anti-motorcycle profiling bill in the Minnesota House.

According to Drazkowski, police officers have gotten out of hand when it comes to stopping motocyclists. They habitually pull them over when no law has been broken simply because law enforcement officials think anyone on a bike has a high probability of malfeasance. . .

Not so, says Public Safety committee Chair Tony Cornish (R- Vernon Center), himself an avid biker who is best known for his passionate advocacy of Second Amendment rights.

In Cornish’s experience, it’s not a widespread problem. He said that he hasn’t been profiled while riding and conversations with other bikers didn’t reveal an overwhelming problem.

“I found the bill, for what’s going on, seems to be a local problem with a few departments that are operating a little bit outside of the norm,” Cornish said. “But it doesn’t warrant spending tens of thousands of dollars of training.”

How expensive and complicated would implementation of the bill be? Hudson reports:

. . .Cornish said that he would “rather not give it a hearing.”

“I’m not saying profiles never occur,” Cornish said. “I’m just saying that it hasn’t occurred in the amount to warrant spending tens of thousands of dollars to model a policy.”

He said that the process to create the rules would take a lot of time and money. If passed, the bill would require four law enforcement groups to draft the policies. That would include consulting with as many Minnesota State Patrol, sheriff and police departments as possible.

Once drafted, law enforcement agencies would then have to train every officer and verify that with the state, Cornish said.

We'll be eager to see how The Draz and House Majority Caucus blames the sputtering death of this proposal on inner city DFLers.

Photo: A photo of motorcycles posted on Cornish's Facebook page in 2014.

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Jan 17, 2015

A source at the capitol tells Bluestem that a retired Republican lawmaker, former House Minority Leader and 2014 Republican gubernatorial primary challenger Marty Seifert, is "lobbying for the gas tax increase."

This is the season of epiphanies, and it doesn't surprise Bluestem that Seifert could see and finally follow the star to hiking the gas tax to improve and repair rural roads and bridges, especially if he's being paid to promote the option.

Marty Seifert, a former Republican House leader who ran for governor twice, will join Flaherty & Hood as a lobbyist, the firm said on Friday. The St. Paul law and legislative advocacy firm represents Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities, Greater Minnesota Partnership and U.S. Highway 14 Partnership, among others, which makes it a natural fit, Seifert said.

"I want to believe in what I'm doing," Seifert said.

Given his close relationship with Speaker Daudt, Bluestem can only hope that Seifert will use his new status as a wise men to shepherd the Crown lawmaker to a new understanding of the need for a more stable revenue long-term revenue fix for transportation funding.

Many Minnesota public safety workers say they are not prepared to deal with an oil train or pipeline accident.

They told the state Public Safety Department they are not adequately trained and some did not know what type of equipment they need to fight an oil fire, the department said in a report released Thursday. Public safety workers also lack knowledge about what railroad and pipeline company and other resources are available in case of an accident.

"As a whole, first responders surveyed for this study rated their area’s preparedness for an oil transportation incident as below moderate (2.6 on a 1 to 5 scale)," the report indicated. "None of the responders rated their area’s preparedness as excellent."

The report added: "Local governments generally do not have the equipment or personnel to respond to a significant oil transportation incident, such as a large spill or fire."

Oil safety has become a major issue after some highly publicized wrecks of trains carrying crude oil from western North Dakota wells.

Ten trains with at least 100 cars each are filled in North Dakota's Bakken oil field on average each day, with seven passing through Minnesota en route to refineries in eastern and southern Unites States. Canadian oil also moves through Minnesota. . . .

The rural perspective on transportation was evidenced by the lack of interest expressed for funding mass transit projects. [Senator Paul] Gazelka [R-Cass County] said the Republican perspective on transportation focuses on adequate funding for roads and bridges. Light rail is not a priority, he said.

"I don't see it as efficient at all for the dollars we spend on it," Gazelka said.

[Senator Carrie] Ruud [R-Breezy Point] said she was opposed to a gas tax hike, because so much of it would go to mass transit projects in the urban areas. [Emphasis added]

"Transportation will probably be the No. 1 thing we address," Ruud said. "We didn't do anything last biennium."

Ruud's statement that so much of a gas tax hike would go to mass transit projects in the urban areas is a paraphrase, so we're not sure whether to credit the mis-statement to her or the reporter trying to grapple copy from interviews with six different legislators in his area.

But as written, that copy prompted us to crowd source a question about the gas tax on Facebook: can the gas tax be used to pay for mass transit? Those responding to our question included several former legislators, but Gustavus Adolphus College mathematics and computer science professor Max Hailperin pointed us to the section of the Minnesota Constitution governing the fuel tax and the funds it feeds.

The "gas tax" as commonly understood can only be spent for roads (including streets) and bridges via three funds. Motor vehicle sales taxes are divided between transportation (60%) and transit (40%) and

We don't want to rip Ruud for this statement, because it's a paraphrase and there are proposals for several taxes on the table.

Minnesota's highway needs can't be met without more tax revenue, Gov. Mark Dayton said Tuesday -- setting him up for a possible clash with the new Republican majority in the House.

Dayton is finalizing his 2016-17 budget proposal, which aims to raise what he says is the $6 billion Minnesota's roads need over the next 10 years. The plan calls for a 6.5 percent wholesale surtax on gasoline -- separate from the existing 28.5 cents-per-gallon tax already levied. That means the tax would bring in more money when gas prices increase.

"Our transportation systems are getting worse," Dayton said. "Anybody who drives to work anywhere in Minnesota knows they're getting worse, and they'll continue to get worse unless we spend more to improve them."

One could shift other monies from public transit to roads, but it wouldn't change where state "gas tax" funds, as consumers commonly understand the tax, are being spent. They're already being spent on roads, bridges and streets.

Dayton said he is putting the finishing touches on a $6 billion transportation improvement plan that could add 12 cents in new taxes to the cost of a gallon of gasoline and a nickel more for every $10 of taxable purchases in the seven-county Twin Cities area to fund bus and rail transit. . . .

Dayton said his plan would fund both state highways and local roads, plus transit.

He will call for a 6.5 percent sales tax on gasoline at the wholesale level, in addition to the current 28.5 cents per gallon tax at the pump. That would cost drivers about 12 cents more on a $2 gallon of gas. The tax bill would rise with fuel prices.

The new gas tax would raise an estimated $5.9 billion over the next 10 years, with $3.8 billion earmarked for state roads and bridges and most of the remaining revenue for local projects.

In addition, he said he will seek a small, as yet undetermined increase in the motor vehicle registration tax, known as “tab fees,” and he plans to increase funding for transit in greater Minnesota by $120 million over 10 years.

It seems clear that while Dayton wants additional revenue for transit as well as roads, bridges and streets, the gas tax increases will go for the latter rather light rail or buses.

A former forklift operator at the JBS plant in Worthington, Moerke lives in Luverne and now serves as Field Staff at West Area Labor Council/Red River Valley, so roads are a big deal for him, both as a driver and a guy working for unions that welcome the roads transportation project bring.

Now, looking at the new committee assignments, we see that that situation isn't quite as dire as Moerke claims, but it's still pretty bad for western Minnesota have a vote on the transportation committee. Let's look at the changes.

Two current committees have been rolled into one. There's a screenshot of the membership of the two committees for 2013-2014:

Of the members on the current committees, Mark Anderson (R-Lake Shore), Rod Hamilton (R-Mountain Lake), Jeff Howe (R-Rockville) and Mary Sawatzky (DFL-Willmar) are arguably in the "western half" of Minnesota, although Anderson's district is in the Eigth Congressional District (which tilts east) and most of Howe's district is in the Sixth, which does the same thing.

Hamilton's district is in the First and is properly called southwestern Minnesota, whereas Sawatzky is here in the west central part of the Seventh.

Under the current, expiring district structure, people in the western districts that touch on the western border--or western part of District 7, which sprawls mostly in the south center part of the state--enjoy having a rep on one committee or the other. Clark Johnson's very central district is in District 7, as is John Petersburg's Waseca County, though most of his House district is in MNDOT District 6, which serves Southeastern Minnesota.

Who's on the new merged committee?

Sawatzky was defeated and Hamilton's not serving on the transportation committee this go-around.

Mark Anderson's there, and Jeff Howe, who are sort of western--with Clark Johnson and John Petersburg, who live in that eastern part of MNDOT District 6.

But none of these men represent what my friend from Luverne calls "the wild, wild west" and certainly west central Minnesota is not on the map of anyone on this new, merged committee.

In fact, Southeastern Minnesota and the suburbs do seem to be the big winners in Transportation Committee bingo in the 2015-2016 biennium session.

Committee Chair Tim Kelly is from Red Wing, on the gateway to Southeastern Minnesota, while Vice-Chair Petersburg is Southeastern.

Steve Drazkowski hails from Mazeppa, in Southeastern Minnesota. McNamara is from the Hastings area, while Norton reps Rochester.

Dec 14, 2014

Bluestem doesn't share any friends in common with retiring Rochester area state representative (and former MN01 congressional candidate) Mike Benson, so we're not certain if the Facebook rant that the Rochester Tea Party Patriots have attributed to him and posted on their page is actually from him.

But we can conclude with some certainty that the page administrator agrees with the sentiments:

Mike Benson FB page:

As reported in tonight's PB Rochester Councilman Mike Wojcik recommends to the full council that the city drop it's Sam's Club membership and go with a Costco membership. He says they should because Costco pays its employees a living wage. Hey wake up Rochester - your socialist Councilman is actually steering you to spending your tax dollars at the business that contributes the most to democrats during every election cycle. And speaking of cycles - councilman Wojcik wants the city to also clear the bike paths all winter so you can bike to work when it is -10 below, -30 below windchill. How in the world does this guy get elected. . . .

We're not sure why it's socialist to pay people well and make a profit (besting Sam's Club in the marketplace according to some reports).

Nor why it's so peculiar to plow bike paths for those who use that form of transportation in a city of over 100,000. Minnesota is home to tough bike commuters.

Here's the full rant:

Image: Sam's Club or Costco/ They both look like the marketplace to us (top); screenshot of the screed attributed to Mike Benson, presumably the outgoing state representative.

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Dec 12, 2014

One of the arguments made for building oil pipelines ASAP--without paying attention to those pesky environmental concerns--is that their construction will reduce the chance that an oil train might explode in a hapless town in Minnesota, while allowing grain and other goods to be shipped without delay.

[Farmington state representative Pat] Garofalo and others in the Legislature, especially Republicans, are strong supporters of building more pipelines to move North Dakota and Canadian oil through Minnesota. He said pipelines are safer, less expensive and pollute less than moving oil over the rails.

[MNDOT official Dave] Christianson said that if every proposed pipeline is built in the next few years, the rapidly increasing amount of oil coming from the Bakken would require the same number of railcars as today.

. . .Kelly, who recently won election to a fourth term, is somewhat of a surprise pick for the post because he had not been serving on the transportation committee. But Kelly said in a lot of ways his selection makes sense.

"Where I sit, just from a district perspective, we've got rail lines, we've got freight, we've got major highways, we've got an airport, we've got a river. When you think about it, it's smack dab in the middle of every form of transportation we utilize," the Red Wing Republican said.

In addition, he said he lives close enough to the metro area to understand some of the issues there. That's important, Kelly said, because rural and urban lawmakers are going to have to be willing to work together to get a comprehensive transportation funding package passed.

"We still have to work together as a state, as opposed to outstate versus metro," he said.

So trains, planes and automobilies--and barges--travel through his district and he drives to the Cities sometimes.

There's not much barge traffic in Southwestern Minnesota, so Rod Hamilton will have to be content shepherding the relatively tiny share of the state budget allocated to agriculture, and at least his recent experience in the human resources department of Christensen Farms is a bit more solid than just having transportation occur somewhere near Mountain Lake.

Perhaps the puzzling part of this drama is the fact that Senate transportation powerhouse Scott Dibble (DFL-Minneapolis) is known for his ability to move bills addressing some of the most difficult issues (from bees to anti bullying and medical cannabis) through the Minnesota legislature, and we find it hard to believe that it would be impossible for Republicans with more transportation budgeting experience to work with their colleagues and Dibble's Senate majority to pass a significant transportation bill.

Nov 28, 2014

In New state leaders will bring all voices to the table, a column placed in the Winona Daily News, incoming Minnesota House Majority Leader Joyce Peppin (R- Rogers) promises that she will so not allow money to be spent on luxury buildings for part-time legislators.

Elsewhere in Politics in Minnesota, staff writer Mike Mullen reports in New chair views local aid with critical eye that Steve Drazkowski (R-Mazeppa) is baring his deep thoughts about "gluttony" on the part of local government.

The obvious solution appears to be letting state senators, mayors and county commissioners sleep under bridges, for which Peppin pledges she will seek funding:

That’s why now — with the 2014 campaign over and the fight over the next state budget not yet begun — seems a good time for Minnesotans to look anew at the scorned project in an apolitical light. We think that if they did, they would see that the new building is a sensible solution to several real problems:

• Renovation of the Capitol requires the Senate to operate elsewhere in 2016. It can’t be just anywhere — not with the security, public access and broadcast demands on legislative operations. The Senate is finding it difficult even to rent office space for staffers for the last half of 2015, when no legislative session is scheduled and both the Capitol and the new building will be unavailable.

• After the renovation, the Capitol can house fewer than a third of Senate offices and only half of its hearing rooms. The Senate is losing 23,000 square feet in the Capitol to modern mechanical components and badly needed enlarged space for the governor, attorney general and public accommodations.

• A 40-year-old problem needs fixing. In the 42 years since enactment of the state’s open-meeting law, public participation in legislative sessions has surged. Legislators were first granted private offices in 1975 in response. But majority senators have been scattered randomly around the Capitol, while minority senators have been housed across the street. The result has been confusion for visitors and less-than-desirable collegiality in a body whose work requires collaboration.

• Easy access to the Capitol for the disabled was not envisioned in its 1905 design. It will be provided via the new building’s parking garage and tunnel to the Capitol.

This is the case that should have been made and debated in full public view before the building was authorized — ideally, with general obligation bonds whose debt service would not be subject to yearly legislative approval. But that didn’t happen.

Since Peppin is still arguing against the construction project and for bridges, Bluestem makes the modest proposal that both state senators and local leaders all be asked to set up shop under the bridges the Peppin, Draz and their fellow House members will no doubt generously fund.

Let's end the empty rhetoric. No more luxury for lawmakers. Perhaps the House Republicans can lead the way and move their offices into St. Paul's downtown skyways, starting with the caucus's executive director Ben Golnik, spiritual architect of the Republicans' takoever.

Matching chairs' resumes to the committees they lead

Bluestem notices another rhetorical quirk in Peppin's column: the notion that committee chair's resumes should match their life experiences.

But once again, Peppin and her caucus are too timid to carry through with their own human resources policy. She writes:

Nursing homes and long-term care facilities are among the top employers in rural Minnesota, yet a crisis is on the horizon as our baby boomers are aging and the workforce isn’t there to meet this growing demand.

The Aging & Long-Term Care Policy Committee was created to help address this problem, and its goal will be to make wholesale improvements to the way we fund senior care.

If the chair of the ag finance committee needs be an ag producer (or work for one), then we think the chair of the Aging & Long Term Care Policy Committee should be a legislator of a certain age, or a provider of services for the aged and infirm.

It's the same with several of the other choices Peppin and pals have made. She writes:

Minnesota’s transportation future centers on the improvement of roads and bridges statewide. As chair of our Transportation Finance Committee, Rep. Tim Kelly (Red Wing) understands that we must address our crumbling infrastructure and make road and bridge improvements a priority.

Funding for transportation is expected to be a major issue in the 2015 session, which starts Jan. 5. To lead the Transportation Policy and Finance Committee, Republicans tapped Rep. Tim Kelly of Red Wing. It's an unconventional choice in that Kelly does not currently serve on any transportation committees.

We could go on--and some readers might object that these are ad hominem arguments, but since the House Republicans feel free to make them, there we are.

Photo: The Roberts Street Bridge, which could just as well double as office space for the Minnesota Senate,OP House leadership stays true to its rhetoric and accepts our modest proposal about the new senate office buildings. We know from personal experiences that bridges in fact exist throughout rural Minnesota and could shelter local government officers as well.

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Nov 18, 2014

According to the Star Tribune article State's Republicans promise compromise, the new leadership in the Minnesota House isn't burying its lack of interest in pursue what Browns Valley conservative representative Jeff Backer calls "repairing" "immoral" legislation.

Republican leadership and rank-and-file members say they do not expect to pass a bevy of conservative wish list measures that would face certain death in the Senate. That could cement DFL policy victories of the past two years, including a higher minimum wage; the income tax increase on the rich; legalization of gay marriage, and MNsure, the state health exchange.

Will the House District 12A social conservatives who are promising to judge Backer by his commitment to making "repairing" morals over roads notice the omission? Or are their concerns just road kill on the path to power?

Oct 27, 2014

On KWLM (AM 1340) radio's Open Mic for Friday, October 24th for Minnesota House District 17A Challenger, Republican Tim Miller said that the MN Department of Transportation's

prevailing wage structure is messed up. I know someone in road construction where they say when they're doing a private project, someone driving a packer gets paid $28 an hour and when they do a state project, they get paid $56 an hour. This is nonsense. We can save money in those areas.

While some special craft workers receive over $50/hour when benefits are added in Region 8, all of the prevailing wage base rates for workers operating highway/heavy power equipment range between $ 21.60 (for a sheepfoot roller operator) to $25.15 for "Group 2," helicopter pilots, crane operators, hydraulic backhoe operator and a few other peices of heavy machine. Benefits bump their total compensation to between $38.80 and $43.75 for heavy equipment operators.

If Miller's $28 figure includes benefits, he's asking construction workers building our roads and bridges to take a steep compensation cut indeed. In some ways, he's asking working people to pay the cost of building roads and bridges, without funding the wages and benefits that put these hard-working people into the middle class.

As the video notes, we discovered that not even "49ers" operating heavy equipment are making what Miller claims. A pdf of the Associated General Contractors' Labor Agreement can be downloaded here (downloads and opens pdf).

In the same radio debate, Miller deplored negative campaigning via independent expenditures by outside groups, even though he's shared some of these materials on social media and done negative campaigning of his own.

In short, this isn't a bug, it's a feature, as our tech nerd friends would say. Miller's using hearsay, rather than checking his facts before opening his mouth, and demonstrating his willingness to cut wages. We can only wonder what he'd do in hectic legislative sessions.

Photo: Highway construction, via MNDOT.

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